VERTAB SR 240 TABLETS

Transcript

PACKAGE LEAFLET: INFORMATION FOR THE USER

VERTAB® SR 240 Tablets
Verapamil Hydrochloride

Please read this leaflet carefully before you start
taking your tablets.
• Keep this leaflet. You may need to read it again.
• If you have any questions or are not sure about
anything ask your doctor or pharmacist.
• If any of the side effects get serious, or if you
notice any side effects not listed in this leaflet,
please tell your doctor or pharmacist.

REMEMBER: This medicine has been prescribed for
you. Do not pass it to others. It may harm them, even if
their symptoms are the same as yours.
In this leaflet:
1. What Vertab SR 240 Tablets are and what
they are used for
2. Before you take Vertab SR 240 Tablets
3. How to take Vertab SR 240 Tablets
4. Possible side effects
5. How to store Vertab SR 240 Tablets
6. Further information

1. WHAT VERTAB SR 240 TABLETS ARE
AND WHAT THEY ARE USED FOR
The name of your medicine is: Vertab SR 240
Tablets

Vertab SR 240 Tablets belong to a group of medicines
called calcium channel blockers. Calcium channel
blockers change the amount of calcium getting into the
muscle cells in your heart and blood vessels. This can
change the strength and speed with which your heart
beats. It also opens up the blood vessels so blood can
be pumped around the body more easily. This helps
more oxygen to get to your heart muscle and can
lower your blood pressure.
Vertab SR 240 Tablets are indicated for the treatment
of mild to moderate hypertension (high blood
pressure) and the treatment and prevention of angina
pectoris (chest pain).

2. BEFORE YOU TAKE VERTAB SR 240
TABLETS

If you are unsure if any of the list applies to you,
ask your doctor before you start to take your
tablets.

Do not take Vertab SR 240 Tablets:
• If you are allergic (hypersensitive) to Verapamil
Hydrochloride or to any of the other ingredients
of Vertab SR 240 Tablets (listed in section 6 Further information).
• If you are having a cardiogenic shock (a sudden
and rapid fall in blood pressure).
• If you are having or have recently had a heart
attack particularly if a slow heart beat, low blood
pressure or left ventricular failure of the heart are
involved.
• If you have second or third degree atrioventricular
block or sino-atrial block (a disorder where parts
of the heart may beat at the wrong time causing
the heart not to pump blood around the body
very well).
• If you have sick sinus syndrome (a heart beat
disorder).
• If you have heart failure that is not currently being
treated.
• If you have severe bradycardia (a condition where
the heart beats at less than 50 beats per minute).
• If you have low blood pressure where the higher
blood pressure reading is below 90.
• If you have Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (a
heart problem causing rapid heart rate sometimes
associated with symptoms such as dizziness
or faintness).

Warnings and Precautions
Consult your doctor or pharmacist before taking
Vertab SR 240 Tablets if:
• You are pregnant or planning to become pregnant
or are breast-feeding.
• You suffer or you have ever suffered in the past
from low blood pressure, from a condition known
as “heart failure”, an abnormally slow or irregular
heart beat, or any other cardiac problem.
• You suffer or you have ever suffered in the past
from kidney or liver disorders.
These above mentioned medical conditions
may mean that your doctor will need to monitor
you more closely.
• You are planning to have medical or dental
surgery. This medicine may affect the
anaesthetics or other treatments used.
• You have a condition where the nerve to muscle
transmission is affected e.g. myasthemia gravis,
Lambert-Eaton syndrome, advanced Duchenne
muscular dystrophy.

Children and Adolescents
There are no data on the use of verapamil
prologned release tablets in children and
adolescents.

Taking Vertab SR 240 Tablets with food and drink:
Your tablets can be taken with a glass of water to help
you swallow them. It does not matter if you have
eaten, so they can be taken with or without food.
Vertab SR 240 Tablets will increase the time
your body takes to get rid of alcohol.

This means that you may not have to drink as much
for your blood alcohol level to be above the legal limit
to drive. It will also take you longer to sober up.
Do not drink grapefruit juice whilst taking your
tablets as it can affect the absorption of this
medicine.

Pregnancy and breast-feeding:
Consult your doctor or pharmacist if you are pregnant,
trying to become pregnant, or breast-feeding.

Driving and using machines:
Vertab SR 240 Tablets can make some people feel
dizzy especially when first starting to take the tablets.
Do not drive, operate machinery or do anything that
requires you to be alert, until you know how the tablets
affect you.
Important information about some of the
ingredients of Vertab SR 240 Tablets:
This medicinal product contains 32 mg sodium per
dose. To be taken into consideration by patients on a
controlled sodium diet.

3. HOW TO TAKE VERTAB SR 240
TABLETS

Always take Vertab SR 240 Tablets exactly as your
doctor has told you. You should check with your doctor
or pharmacist if you are not sure.

The tablets should not be chewed or crushed. They
should be swallowed whole with a glass of water.
ADULTS:
• For treatment of hypertension (high blood
pressure): The usual dosage is one tablet per
day. Some patients may need to take two tablets
per day (one in the morning and one in the
evening with about 12 hours between doses).
Do not take more than two tablets per day.
• For the treatment and prevention of angina
pectoris (chest pain): The usual dose is one
tablet twice daily.
USE IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS:
This medicine is not suitable for children and
adolescents.

If you take more Vertab SR 240 Tablets than you
should
In case of an overdose, contact your nearest hospital
casualty department or tell your doctor IMMEDIATELY,
taking your tablets with you.

If you forget to take Vertab SR 240 Tablets
If you forget to take a dose, take it as soon as you
remember, unless it is almost time for your next dose.
Do not take a double dose to make up for a forgotten
dose.
If you have trouble remembering to take your tablets,
tell your doctor or your pharmacist. If you take too
many tablets by mistake, any side effects (see below)
may be worse than usual; in this case see your doctor.

If you stop taking Vertab SR 240 Tablets
It is important that you continue taking the tablets until
your doctor tells you to stop. Do NOT stop because
you feel better. If you stop taking the tablets too soon
your condition may get worse.
If you have any further questions on the use of this
product, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

4. POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS

Like all medicines, Vertab SR 240 Tablets can cause
side effects, although not everybody gets them.
If you experience the following side effects you
should tell your doctor immediately:
• If you have any unexpected wheezing or difficulty
in breathing, if you have Quincke’s oedema (swelling
of the face with itching), swelling of the mouth, lips,
or tongue, or if you develop a skin rash, pruritus
(itching), or severe skin rash with blistering and

peeling of the skin. These are signs you are having
an allergic reaction.
• If you develop yellowing of the skin or eyes, a
fever or tenderness around the middle.
These are signs that your liver may not be
functioning as well as usual.
• If you have bradycardia (slow heart beats),
arrhythmia (irregular heart beat), palpitations
(awareness of an irregular or rapid heart beat),
heart failure, reversible impairment of liver
function, chest pains for the first time or chest
pains that become more frequent, dizziness,
weakness or confusion, swollen ankles, feeling
faint or breathless or a burning sensation in the
feet, which may become hot and throbbing.
• Swelling of the limbs.
• Hypotension (abnormally low blood pressure).

Do not stop taking the tablets, but tell your doctor
if you get any of the following:
Constipation (the most common side effect), flushing
of the face or neck, headaches, feeling or being sick,
abdominal pain or discomfort, a feeling of dizziness or
spinning, tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in the ears),
tiredness, tremor, movement disorders, muscle
weakness, aches and pains in the joints and/or
muscles, skin rash or itching, a tingling or prickling
feeling on the skin, numbness and hair loss.
Impotence may occur rarely.

Other side effects might occur if Vertab SR 240 is
used for a long time. Tell your doctor if you develop
swollen gums which start to spread over your teeth, or
if your breasts swell (males) or start to produce milk
(males and females). These effects are rare and are
resolved upon stopping taking the tablets.

If any of the side effects gets serious, or if you
notice any side effects not listed in this leaflet,
please tell your doctor or pharmacist.

Reporting of side effects
If you get side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist
or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not
listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects
directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at
www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard. By reporting side effects
you can help provide more information on the safety
of this medicine.

5. HOW TO STORE VERTAB SR 240
TABLETS

Keep out of the sight and reach of children.
Do not use Vertab SR 240 Tablets after the expiry date
on the label and carton.
Do not store above 25°C.
Do not use Vertab SR 240 Tablets if you notice any
visible signs of deterioration.
Medicines should not be disposed of via wastewater or
household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to dispose
of medicines no longer required. These measures will
help to protect the environment.

What Vertab SR 240 Tablets look like and content
of the pack:
This medicine can be identified as modified release,
light-green film-coated, capsule-shaped, scored
tablets.Vertab SR 240 Tablets are supplied in packs of
28 tablets.

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